Eagles
by Zyzyax
Summary: Summary: Written for Spyfest 2019 Week 1. Prompt: "A SAS soldier meets the animal he was named after." In other words, Eagle meets a golden eagle. No slash. No romance. Just a man and an eagle.


**Eagles**

* * *

Eagle heard the cry of the animal he was named for above his head. It was interesting to see a bird of prey. The brown feathered, beady-eyed animal landed on the tree nearest to him. Eagle wasn't sure what had led him to decide to go on this nature hike alone, but it was kind of nice. There was another person near him, but Eagle wasn't quite sure what to say to a bird-watcher. "It's a Golden Eagle."

Eagle hadn't really asked, but it was nice to know. "Are they common?"

The man gave him an amused look. "Oh, yes. Especially in the northern hemisphere. Tell me, where are you from, young man?"

The man looked to be in his sixties. "England."

Eagle stared at the bird some more. "It's not very golden."

The man snorted at him. "Not really, no. The back of the head and neck are a bit closer to gold, look."

Eagle looked. "So, uh, how much do you know about them?"

The old man squinted at him. "The Golden Eagle. Hmmm. Well, they are good for falconry and hunting. It's the national bird of Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and Kazakhstan. There are quite a few myths going on about them, too."

Eagle perked up. The bird took off. "Really?"

The man sat on a rock. "Yes, would you like to hear one?"

Eagle really had nothing better to do that day. "Sure."

Eagle sat on the ground, across from the man. He made a mental note to never tell Wolf about this. His team leader already gave him crap about "humoring the old ladies" wherever they went. "In one of the old American tribes, they have a legend about an eagle. There was once a hunter who had a deer hanging outside. He walked out and saw an eagle tearing at the deer. The hunter shot it without thinking. In the morning, he returned to the settlement and told the others what he had done. They immediately arranged for a funeral rite for the eagle and at night they began to perform the funeral rites. At about midnight, they heard a call and a warrior had appeared and began to tell them of his exploits. Nobody knew him, but they assumed he came from a neighboring town. He told a story of how he killed a man and let out a yell at the end of the story. A man dropped dead. Everybody froze in fear. He told seven such stories and at the end of each one, a man fell dead with each yell. At the end of the seventh death, he rode back out into the darkness. Much later, they learned that the warrior was the brother of the eagle the hunter killed."

Eagle shivered at the end of the story. What did one say to the end of that? The man got up and wandered into the woods. Eagle decided it was about time to go right then. The walk back was awfully quiet. Eagle decided it was probably best to not walk in the woods alone after that.

* * *

The second time Eagle saw a golden eagle it was also in the wilderness alone. It was completely different, though. First, they were in Kazakhstan. Second, he was technically on the job. He was walking. It was fairly rocky for an area with trees. There was a desert and a forest around here. According to the guidebook, it was a very dry forest that was prone to fires and had pretty poor, sandy soil. Things had really gone south and he was separated from his team. Wolf would probably kill him later, but he wasn't about to let the new guy get killed, so Eagle had stayed behind to cover them. Eagle actually liked the guy, for one. New members also took a while to get used to the interesting team dynamics, to put it mildly. Eagle decided to take a break and make sure he wasn't going completely the wrong way. It was easy to do in the desert. Eagle would swear that all the trees were clones of each other. The place wasn't exactly a showstopper either. Desert was pretty boring in his opinion. He couldn't wait to get back to civilization. He was resting for a bit on a rock. Eagle sighed and pulled out his map and compass. Only about five more klicks to go. A great brown bird swooped down and landed on the stumpy tree in front of him. The map almost fell out of his hands as he jumped. Eagle would never admit it, but the stupid feathered rat almost gave him a heart attack. "Bird, I swear, you seem to come just to watch things get weird." The eagle fluffed its feathers. Eagle had no way of telling if it was the exact same bird or not. This was getting a bit odd, though. He almost wished he could tell if it was the same, just to satisfy that niggling doubt in his head. The eagle eyed him. Eagle wondered what the feather ball was expecting. It wasn't like he carried around eagle treats and he was not about to shoot it or anything. They were probably endangered or something. Besides, he kind of liked it and it didn't give away his position. It was kind of nice to have a giant bird of prey just show up randomly in your life. It was a lot prettier than most of the things he usually saw on a daily basis. Eagle wondered how long the things were supposed to live. "Isn't it about time you found a mate?" The eagle, predictably, didn't answer him. Eagle got up and the bird immediately flew off. "Damn bird." Eagle meant it in the most affectionate way possible. It was time to head back to his team.

* * *

Eagle was starting to get really suspicious the third time he saw a golden eagle. He was technically off the job but in training. The bird looked just as sleek and impressive as he remembered. "Why are you here feather ball? This is about as routine as it gets."

The eagle eyed him warily and then let out a cry and took off. Eagle sighed and got back to his paperwork. He'd swear it was some sort of punishment for an unknown deed. Wolf was coming his way. "So, paperwork."

Eagle just looked at his team leader. "Yep."

Wolf snorted. "Man, somebody must hate you. This is the third time you've gotten that assignment."

Eagle rolled his eyes. "Or it means that I get it done right, unlike some people I could mention."

Wolf scowled. "There were only crayons available at the time. The stupid shits we were doing joint exercises with stole the pens."

Eagle resisted a smirk. "Sure, Wolf."

Wolf popped him upside the head. Eagle was well used to it. "So, who got night exercises today?"

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Do you know somebody I don't or are you just bad luck?"

Eagle laughed. "Both."

Wolf whacked him again. Eagle shoved him back and got up, stretching his back with a pop as his vertebrae realigned. "Race you to dinner!"

Wolf won, of course. Cheater. Eagle couldn't complain, though. It was a pretty typical day for them. Eagle wondered why the eagle had shown up at all. Maybe he was getting too superstitious. Then again, he knew squads that went full-out cult, so he figured one little belief wasn't too weird. Wolf was his usual self through dinner. The newer guy seemed to be settling nicely. Eagle wondered if he shouldn't mention the offer he'd gotten. Eagle had turned it down, of course, but Wolf liked to know those things. Of course, Wolf also got pissy as hell when the rest of the team got offers to go join other teams or even switch jobs. Eagle didn't really want the guy going off on anybody tangled up with the home office. Eagle decided he'd burn that letter once he got off base. The new fire alarms were some of the twitchiest little things that had ever existed. Wolf paused mid-bite. "Also, I heard a rumor Cub was coming back."

Eagle nearly spit out his coffee. "Probably just a rumor."

He didn't believe it deep down. Wolf huffed. "Yeah. I should really quit listening to other squads."

Eagle shook his head. "Oh, but then where would you get your gossip. We all know it substitutes for your non-existent soul."

Wolf cuffed him again. The next day, Cub arrived, again. Eagle had not been all that surprised.

* * *

The fourth time Eagle saw the bird, he was more than a little suspicious and technically retired. Eagle had finally gotten permanently injured. He'd known it could happen but hadn't exactly expected it to happen to him. It left him pretty active most days, but he was out of the army and out of the SAS. It had been pretty hard to adjust to, to be honest. The brown bird of prey had landed near him. Eagle offered it part of his sandwich. The bird gave him a look that was almost offended. The meat went back into his sandwich. "What do you want, bird? I'm not an eagle anymore." The bird eyed him suspiciously before shaking out its feathers. It began to groom itself. Eagle knew he wasn't technically Eagle anymore, but he still felt like the name defined him better than what his real name was. It was a name he had earned. He had been given his other one. The eagle, to his surprise, landed on his head. "Well, bird?" The talons scraped his scalp painfully as it took off, soaring into the sky. "That's going to need a doctor."

Eagle figured he may as well get to it now. The man in the health clinic eyed him suspiciously. To be fair, Eagle would be pretty suspicious if anybody else had the excuse of "an eagle did it". There had been increased gang activity in the area and Eagle was technically disabled. As Eagle walked out of the clinic, he saw Cub. "Hey."

Eagle just stared at the kid. That damn eagle was borderline prophetic. "What's up kid?"

Cub looked instantly awkward. "I might need your help."

Eagle sighed. "I got a medical discharge. I can't do most of that stuff anymore."

Cub coughed. "No, not like that kind of help. I just want a place to crash for a few days."

Eagle sighed. What was the worst that could happen? "Alright. If you burn the place down, I'm going to be really upset."

Cub chuckled. "How's the head?"

Eagle gave him the evil eye. "Fine."

It didn't occur to him to ask how Cub knew. Or to ask Cub anything, really.

Three days after Cub left, MI6 came looking for him. "Where is he?"

Eagle looked at the man in black who had just ordered a search of his home. It would take ages to clean up. "Who?"

The man gave him a derisive look. "Alex Rider."

Eagle had never heard the name before in his life. "Who?"

The man paused. "You know him as Cub."

Eagle sighed. He knew not asking Cub any questions would bite him in the ass eventually. But it had seemed rude to pry. "No clue. He was here for a few days and then he just left."

The man in black paused. He looked a bit shocked at Eagle's actions. Eagle himself had been a bit surprised, but in the end, he had been bored enough to just accept it. "And you just let him go?"

Eagle shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? He was my squad mate, not my charge. Wolf does the same thing all the time and I don't question him. Don't get me started on Fox's disappearing act."

The man groaned. "I sometimes wish the SAS hadn't trained the curiosity out of most of you."

Eagle wondered if he should be offended. "We're soldiers. Questioning things too hard isn't really our job."

The man in black let out a long sigh. "He's AWOL."

Eagle shrugged. Honestly, he'd half expected Cub to go AWOL about the third day of training after they first met. "About time."

The man eyed him suspiciously. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Eagle had known better than to argue or voice his opinion when the whole Brecons thing happened, but now he didn't really have any such rules. Plus, he had morals. "Well, I'd run away too. You recruited him early. Too early."

The man's gaze turned almost contemptuous. "It's none of your business."

Eagle shrugged. "Yeah, none of it was. You won't find anything here. I didn't ask Cub anything, so you won't get anything from me either. Just leave."

Another man looked contemplative. "Maybe that's why Alex picked him instead of Wolf or Fox."

The man in black paused. "True. Those two would have at least gotten his real name."

Eagle felt like he was supposed to feel insulted, but he didn't really care. He hoped Cub knew what he was doing. And that the kid flew far, far away from trouble. Eagle felt a small pang of regret for not even trying to look into it. "We'll be watching."

Eagle resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah, like Cub was dumb enough to come back here. Eagle was not in the mood to be helpful, though. He kept his mouth shut.

* * *

The last time Eagle spotted the bird, he and it both looked near death. The bird seemed to be losing feathers. Eagle had actually looked up the lifespan of the things. It was around thirty years in the wild. The brown bird was perched on a tree that looked way too small to hold its' weight. The bird squawked at him. "I just got rid of cancer, bird. What's your excuse?" The bird must either really like him or have been really sick because it jumped to his shoulder. Eagle hissed as he felt the claws slice into his shoulder through his paper-thin clothes. "Damn bird, I better not get bird flu or something." The bird eyed him warily but fluffed its feathers. The thing was way heavier than Eagle thought it was going to be. A long brown feather dropped off. Eagle caught it with his other hand and stuck it in his pocket. If he was getting his shoulder shredded, he may as well get a souvenir. He lightly reached toward the bird with his other hand, half expecting to get a chunk of it ripped off by the wild bird of prey on his shoulder that had absolutely zero training. To his surprise, the eagle let him stroke its feathers a few times. For a vicious bird of prey, it was really soft. Eagle wondered if the bird wanted help or something. Were they even smart enough to ask for it? "Don't you have a mate to get back to or something?" The eagle extended a talon threateningly with one eye closed. It reminded Eagle of Wolf when you asked him about his permanent bachelorhood. "Still single then." The brown bird fluffed up. Eagle was sort of amused. "Do you want to come home with me?" The eagle didn't fly off, so Eagle just assumed it was a yes. These things ate raw meat, right? Eagle suddenly wished that he had read a bit more on golden eagles. Then maybe he'd understand why this one was stalking him. "Is this a sign my house is going to burn down while being hit by a tornado and struck by lightning four times?" The eagle whacked him in the face with its wing feathers. Eagle just laughed. "Alright then, I'll bring you home." Eagle decided that he had nothing better to do than nurse it back to health. This felt kind of illegal, but he wasn't selling the bird or anything, so he'd probably be fine. The eagle didn't take off or panic by the time Eagle brought it home. "So, are you going to be nice and come to the vet with me?" Eagle hadn't known that birds _could _hiss. It was perched on one of his nice, wooden dining room chairs. "No. Umm, do you want me to bring the vet here?" The eagle didn't hiss but was still threatening to crack the chair under the force of its talons. "Alright. I'll try to find you a nice one. Please don't kill me in my sleep." Eagle felt a bit ridiculous talking to a bird, but he thought the bird could at least partially understand him. Or the word vet.

The bird, like all mean things, made a full recovery. Eagle was still hesitant to touch it. The eagle was pretty twitchy with its very, very sharp talons. It was coming close to giving him the same number of scars as a career in the SAS. Then again, he was the moron who brought a wild, predatory bird home. Eagle had asked the vet if it was possible his feathered acquaintance had PTSD. The vet had just looked at him and told him maybe. The bird was giving him its usual evil-eyed morning stare. "I'm just bringing you breakfast. Don't rip me open." Eagle had not known that the birds were capable of killing adult humans, but there were no documented deaths by golden eagles in the history books. The vet had been kind enough to give him a mildly dubious look and a bunch of educational literature. Hey, just because he was an ex-soldier didn't mean he was an idiot. Then again, he had brought a giant raptor home, talked to it like a person, and didn't bother trying to tame it. The golden eagle was considerate enough to not poop on his furniture at least. The eagle scarfed down a surprisingly large quantity of raw meat. The vet had reassured him that there were plenty of sanctuaries that would take his "pet" if he was unable to care for it. Eagle refused to abandon the eagle. He wasn't really sure the eagle was his. It just sort of landed on him and let him take it home. "Are you going to let me pet you today?" The bird didn't hiss at him, so Eagle figured it was safe today and tentatively touched the feathers. The eagle nipped him affectionately. "Are you in a good enough mood for hugs?" The vet had explained that hugging an eagle was a bad idea because of its instincts to guard against becoming prey itself. Eagle had been a little smug when the feather ball had let him hug it. And had been almost immediately clawed the next morning. Darn thing. "Let's go outside." The eagle perched on his shoulder. Eagle had gotten shoulder pads a long time ago.

Eagle watched with a small amount of envy as the bird took off and performed a series of death-defying dives in the air. It reminded him of himself sometimes. It was really a pretty thing now that it had healed up and gotten all of its feathers back. The vet had informed him that it was a he. Eagle had tried to warn the vet about vaccinations, but the man had assured him it would go fine. The vet had needed twenty-seven stitches. Apparently, the males were really, really fast. The vet had come back with sedatives for Eagle to stick in the bird's breakfast. Eagle had been torn between laughing and apologizing for his pet. And Eagle hadn't cut the talons back at all. He had tried getting clippers near the bird and had been hissed at so copiously that he'd just put the clippers down and given up. Eagle would swear the bird was nearly sentient and really vicious. It put Wolf to shame on its temperamental days. At least Wolf didn't usually maim you to the point of stitches when he got pissy. The bird landed on a tree nearby. Eagle knew about then that the golden eagle was going to leave him. It normally landed on him. "Leaving now?" The golden eagle squawked. "It's days like these I wish you could speak English." The eagle swooped down and gave him one last slash. Eagle watched it gain altitude until it was out of sight. Well, there went his Sunday. Eagle went inside. The feather ball had shed plenty of feathers. It was time to get a frame for them. They were kind of pretty. Eagle was pretty proud of his bird feather collection. I mean, it was only from one bird, but he had a lot of them. They were glossy and soft. Eagle decided to box up the stuff. He had a feeling "Snuggles" the eagle was not ever coming back, but he couldn't quite bring himself to get rid of the stuff to take care of the raptor he'd helped. Eagle decided he was going to get the feather ball on his tombstone. It was kind of stupid and everybody would assume it was because of his SAS name, but Eagle figured he wouldn't care about that after he was dead. The vet had eyed him after he said the bird flew away. "And you just let it go?"

Eagle was reminded of Cub. An event that had happened almost thirty years ago. He was officially old. "Yes, I did."

The man eyed him oddly. "Why?"

Eagle wasn't quite sure himself. The raptor had never really struck him as a pet. More like an individual companion. He remembered it flying high and the dives it made. When he was reminded of his own time in freefall with parachutes. "I can't really say, Doc. Eagles are meant to fly free."

The man looked at him. "Very well. Have a good day."

Eagle left. It was time to get his feather collection framed.

* * *

**Fin**

* * *

A/N: I used Wikipedia for most of the info about eagles. I'm not an ornithologist, so correct me if I am wrong. The myth came from this site: . .

I'm not sure how reputable it is, but it supposedly is linked to the actual tribe it comes from.


End file.
